Atomizing



28 FUEL 80 0 n INVENTOR BYZ Z ATTORNEY 550/755 0. jM/T/l G. D. SMITHFiled Sept. 8, 1947 A TOMIZING OIL BURNER AND IGNITION MEANS THEREFORJan. 20, 1953 Patented Jan. 20, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEATOMIZING 01 BURNERJANDJIGNITION iMEANs THEREFOR George D. Smith,Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application September 8, 1947, Serial No. 772,761

'1 Claim. 1

This invention relates generally to ignition means and more particularlyto an ignitor for fuel in a dispersed state.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide structurefor the ignition of fuel flares or fuel flames, particularly thoserequired to burn 'inthe atmosphere, such as fog dispersal burners whichmust functionin rain, wind and adverse weather conditions.

vIn connection with the dispersionof fog from such areas as airfields,it is necessary that fuel burners used for thispurpose be quicklyignitible. This is so for several reasons. First, with large areas overwhich the fog dispersal burners are distributed, it is desirable thatthey be'ignited at the exact time when their use is necessary. This maybe readily understood, since if the burners do not light at the desiredtime, the fog dispersal is interfered with, which may cause bad landingsof the aeroplanes. Another reason for prompt action is that with a largenumber of burners, fuel consumption is relatively high and if it werenecessary to light the burners in advance of their actual use, therewould be considerable waste of fuel.

vPrompt lighting of theburners is also necessary because it is mostlikely that it will'be necessary to ignite them when theweatherconditions are adverse-accompanied by wind-andrain.

It is another object of the "present invention to provide a fuel flareor flame ignitor which, when energized willsubstantiallyremain within apredetermined rangeof temperatures so that the ignition temperature maybe obtained to properly ignite theparticularv fuel being used.

Another object herein lies in the provision of structure of the classdescribed which is simple, so as to be low in initial cost sincearelatively large number of ignitors are required for a single airfield.

Another object'herein lies in the provision of ignitor structure whichis substantially weatherproof so that the samemay have long continuedtrouble-free operation requiring a minimum of servicing.

Another object herein lies in the provision of a fuel flare ignitorwhich is electrically operated so that the same may be remotelycontrolled with a maximum of speed and con- -venience.

A feature of the inventionlies in thefact that the power requirement ofthe ignitor is relatively low. This permits a large number of ignitorsto be operated offasingleservice line of relatively low powertransmitting capacity.

Another object of the present invention lies .in theprovision of anignitor which maintains a substantially constant predeterminedtemperature by virtue of the structure incorporated therein whichprotects the heater element from ambient external influences. Inaccordance with the present invention, a'heater element is used whichmay be energized and controlled from a remote point and in which theheater element is disposed Withina body element having a downwardlyopeningrecessysaid heater element being thus protected from mechanicalinjury and weather conditions so that with a'relatively low power inputadequate constant temperature for ignition ,purposes is maintained.

The present invention has among itsfeatures the overcoming of thedisadvantages associated with priorart ignitors in which becauseof thelack of protection'for the heater element, ambient external influencessuch as wind, fog or rain of variable intensity would'lead to thedisintegration of the heater element. Thus, for example, where the windvelocity was suflicient to carry away for example, watts of energy, itwas necessary to supply sufficient additional energy to bring the heaterelement to the desired predetermined temperature. If the wind velocitydecreased, the reduction in cooling would cause the heater element toburn out. On the other hand, if the windvelocity increased, thetemperature of the heater element would drop so that it was no longereffective to produce proper ignition.

Another object herein lies-in the provision of fuel burner and ignitorcombination structure wherein the ignitor is stationary with respect tothe burner and wherein fuel is projected by the burner toward theignitor at the commencement of combustion, the projection of the fuel orits position receding with'respect to the ignitor after combustion hasoccurred for a short period of time. Thus, no moving parts or any othermeans are required to shift the position of the ignitor and yet, veryquickly after ignition of the fuel takes place, the ignitor is in effectremoved from the flame.

These objects and other incidental ends and advantages will more fullyappear in the progress of this disclosure and be pointed out in theappended claim.

In the drawings in which similar reference characters designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view, partly .in vertical section,showing an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the base element of the ignitor with the coverelement removed.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view as seen from the plane3-3 on Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram.

The ignitor, generally indicated by reference character I 0, includesbroadly a body element I I, a heating element I2, a support element I3,and energy supplying means I 4.

The ignitor I is used in combination with a burner I5 and is fixed at apredetermined position with respect thereto. As seen in Fig. 1, thesupport element I3 is joined to the lower portion I5 of the burnerelement I5 by a connector element I'I. While I have shownin Fig. 1, theignitor I0 as being fixed in position with respect to the burner I5 bythe connector element I I, other suitable means for this purpose may beemployed.

The burner I5 is of a type known in the art to which the presentinvention relates in which the flow of fuel may be controlled and theshape of the dispersed fuel cone above the burner may be controlled.While I have shown only one burner I5 and one ignitor I9, as will beobvious, any desired number of these units, indicated generally byreference character 25, may be arranged in suitable fashion toaccommodate the area being cleared of fog. The burner I5, when operatingunder low pressure, controlled for example by the input valve 28 and theoutput valve 29, may have an initial broad based inverted cone ofdispersed fuel disposed above it. The relatively outer margins of such acone are indicated by the dot dash lines on Fig. 1 (reference character40). the pressure of the fuel in the burner I5 builds up to equilibriumvalue, the cone ofdispersed fuel narrows so that the same may beindicated, for

example by the dash double dot lines on Fig. 1 (reference character 50).Thus, immediately following the manipulation of the valves 28 and 29 toset the fuel supply for a smaller or larger quantity, the initial coneof dispersed fuel for a When particular setting of fuel supply willcontact the?v ignitor I0 and after pressure has reached a state ofequilibrium, the cone will automatically narrow so that the ignitor I0is no longer located within the area of most intense heat.

Turning to the ignitor III, the body element I I and the support elementI3 are preferably composed of suitable heat resisting material. This,for example, may be of molded electrical insulating and heat resistingmaterial. Molded asbestos of this character may be used for thispurpose. The body element I I includes a base member 25, and a covermember 2 I. The base member 20 includes a bottom surface 22, a topsurface 23, a rear surface 24, a front surface 26 and side surfaces 21and 30. Rearwardly of the front wall 26, the base member 20 is providedwith an opening 33 of elongated character extending lengthwise betweenthe side surfaces 2'! and 30. The opening 33 has a front wall 34, a rearwall 35 and side walls 35 and 31. The base member 25 is provided with aplurality of orifices to receive contact and assembly screws II-42 and4344 re- The cover member 2I has a bottom surface 45/ a top surface 45,a rear surface 41, a forward of them are set to 4 surface 48. The frontsurface 48 is preferably coplanar with the surface 26. The side surfaces5I and 52 are preferably co-planar with the side surfaces 21 and 30.

There is a front recess 55 and a rear depresion 56. The depression 56 isof sufficient depth and size to accommodate the upper ends of thecontact screws AI and 42 together with the conductors 6B, and GI as Wellas the terminals of the heating element I2 and the washers and nutsthereon.

The front recess 55 includes a top surface 62, side surfaces 63 and 64,a rear surface 65 and a front surface 65. The front surface 66 iscoplanar with the front surface 25. The rear wall 65 forms a webseparating the front recess 55 from the rear depression 55, and isprovided with a pair of spaced indentations where the terminals of theheater element I2 may pass rearwardly to become secured upon the contactscrews 43 and 44. The lower portions of the screws 4| and '42 arecountersunk at their heads in the lower wall surface 22, while the lowerof the two nuts on each of said screws is countersunk in the top surface23. The heater element is preferably in the form of a coil of resistancewire, and is desirably stiff enough to support itself even when at hightemperature.

A mounting block I9 is suitably secured in the upper open end of thesupport element I3, the latter preferably being in the form of tubingwhich is rectangular in cross section. Block I9 has a pair of orificesthrough which the screws 43 and 44 upwardly project and the lower of thetwo nuts on each of said screws is countersunk in the upper surface 23.These last mentioned nuts hold the base member 23 on top of the supportI3. The cover member 2| also has a pair of holes through which the upperends of the screws 43 and 44 project, and the top nuts hold the covermember in place.

Operation toward the opening of the burner through which the fuelemerges, said cavity, however being laterally offset with respect to theaxis of the principal direction of fuel movement as it leaves theburner.

When it is desired to ignite the burner I5, the switch is closed whichcompletes the circuit from a source of electricity (not shown) to thestepdown transformer 8|. The secondary Winding of the transformer isconnected via the conductors 60 and BI through the contact screws 4| and42 and associated conductive parts to the heater element I2. The actionof ignition and the inception of combustion is relatively rapid and theoperation, as presently understood i as follows: The heater element I2quickly reaches the predetermined temperature which of course isdetermined from the flash point of the fuel used. Depending upon theparticular type of 7 burner used, the valves 28 and 29 or either onepermit the fuel to emerge from the burner. In the beginning, the fuel atthe selected setting, because of inertia or for other reasons (evendeliberate control), leaves the burner at a relatively wide angle (seethe cone '40. on Fig. 1). Fuel, either in the form of a condensation ofdroplets or in the form of a spray or a gas or liquid, is depositedwithin the recess 55 and/or upon the heater element I 2.

The heater element quickly ignites this deposited material, which inturn expands and flashes back and -is forcibly ejected to ignite themain fuel stream leaving the burner l5. By virtue of the shape of therecess, the burning material must of necessity leave the recess throughthe opening and therefore move generally in the direction of the fuelstream. Immediately after ignition, the inertia of the fuel is overcomeand the velocity of the fuel stream is increased by reason of increasein pressure so that the cone of said stream becomes narrowed (seereference character 50 in Fig. 1). This results in a recession of thefuel stream away from the ignitor and depending upon the pressure andflow of the fuel is accompanied by a movement of the base of the flameaway from the burner opening. This, together with the ambient air whichis pulled along with the flame results in the envelopment of the ignitorby cooler air with a consequent protection of the ignitor from the areasof intensely high temperature.

The heater element may be relatively small and is preferably one havinga low thermal capacity in the order of 30 watts; heater elements of suchsize having been successfully operated, and have successfully performedwith as low as watts. Through the use of low voltage supply to theheater element, since the ignitors are principally used in locationsexposed to bad weather conditions, the frequency of electrical trouble,such as short circuit, or leakage is reduced.

It may thus be seen that I have disclosed an ign-itor that will effectignition and remain away from the flames without the need for anymovable parts or any other means to remove the ignitor from the flamearea, and that the natural movement of the fuel causes an upward currentof air which tends to keep the ignitor housing cooler than it wouldotherwise be.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to theexact details of construction shown and described, for obviousmodifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

I claim:

In an oil burner the combination of a burner element having an nozzle,an ignition device, a support for joining and permanently holding saidburner element and said ignition device in fixed off center relation toeach other, said ignition device including a standard and a captherefor, said cap member forming a relatively short unrestricted recesswhich has its opening forwardly of and pointed toward the nozzle of saidburner element, a hot wire igniting element mounted in said recess nearthe closed end thereof to protect said igniting element from foreignparticles and air currents tending to cool said element, means forsupplying fuel under reduced pressure to said nozzle to atomize saidfuel and to spray it in a predetermined wide cone area at the start offuel supply to said nozzle and in a narrower predetermined cone areawhen the fuel pressure at the nozzle has reached its equilibrium value,said igniting element being within said Wide cone area whereby it is indirect unobstructed line with a portion of atomized fuel of said widecone at the start, whereby said atomized fuel emerging from said nozzleat the start is partly intercepted by said recess of said ignitiondevice and whereby said igniting element receives and ignites some ofsaid atomized fuel in said recess, said recess also constructed to actas a chamber with its axis so directed as to direct ignited atomizedfuel into igniting relationship to the remainder of the atomizedfuel-issuing from said wide cone area of said burner nozzle, saidignited fuel in said recess upon expanding being forcibly ejected fromsaid recess into the main atomized fuel stream to ignite the same, saidignition device being entirely outside the narrower fuel cone areaduring normal operation.

GEORGE D. SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,646,503 Steward Oct. 25, 19271,670,819 Morris et a1. May 22, 1928 1,704,875 Vaughn Mar. 12, 19291,724,132 Hart Aug. 13, 1929 1,740,249 Klees Dec. 17, 1929 1,826,788Huber Oct. 13, 1931 2,005,832 Vidalie June 25, 1935 2,150,687 KonowichMar. 14, 1939 2,384,797 Cerny et a1 Sept. 18, 1945 2,410,881 Hunter Nov.12, 1946 2,423,410 Simmons July 1, 1947 2,438,823 Resek et a1 Mar. 30,1948 2,465,092 Harkness et a1 Mar. 22, 1949 2,483,975 Hoogendam Oct. 4,1949

